America Is Not The Greatest Country In The World Anymore.

“Jennifer Johnson: Can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?

Will McAvoy: Sharon, the NEA is a loser. Yeah, it accounts for a penny out of our paycheck, but he

[gestures to Lewis]

Will McAvoy: gets to hit you with it anytime he wants. It doesn’t cost money, it costs votes. It costs airtime and column inches. You know why people don’t like liberals? Cause they lose. If liberals are so fucking smart, how come they lose so god damn always?

Sharon: Hey!

Will McAvoy: [Turns to Louis] And with a straight face, you’re gonna tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome that we’re the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The UK. France. Italy. Germany. Spain. Australia… Belgium! has freedom… 207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of ’em have freedom.

Moderator: Alright…

Will McAvoy: [Looks at Jenny] And, yeah, you… sorority girl. Just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day, there are some things you should know. One of them is: There is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest country in the world. We’re 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, number 4 in labor force and number 4 in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real and defense spending – where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies. Now, none of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student, but you, nonetheless, are without a doubt a member of the worst period generation period ever period, so when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don’t know what the FUCK you’re talking about!… Yosemite?

[Stunned silence]

Will McAvoy: … It sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws – for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not on poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were and we never beat our chest. We built great, big things, made ungodly technological advanced, explored the universe, cured diseases and we cultivated the world’s greatest artists AND the world’s greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men. We aspired to intelligence, we didn’t belittle it. It didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election and we didn’t scare so easy. We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed… by great men, men who were revered. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.”

The Newsroom, Season 1, Episode 1 (June 24, 2012)

Yes you’ve read that here before, it was at the start of my post “Blue? Red? It doesn’t matter anymore.” but I felt like it fit today as well so enjoy. You’re also seeing Cori today and not Lucky. I felt like Cori was more appropriate given the subject matter, but you all know my words are my words. Today is a sad day. It really is. I honestly do not love to sit and write posts like this because they force me to choose a side. Through the years I’ve moved into being an independent versus being a democrat or republican. I’ve looked at things from the viewpoint of if it’s a good idea and makes sense, I do not care which side it came from. I like that view. Today though, man. I do not even know where to begin really. This is going to be hard one and it won’t be long because I am trying to keep the other emotions in check.

We all heard the stories a couple of months ago about the draft the Supreme Court had in regards to Roe V. Wade and what it likely meant. Obviously we had to wait for it to actually drop but we all knew what it meant was coming. I had my feelings on it then, and I have them still now. They have remained the same throughout. When I was born a woman’s right to choose was the law of the land. The entire time I grew up it was the law of the land. Hell, most of us, even us men, have had those moments where that right to choose played a role in our lives. Not all of us of course, and whatever your decision would be on the subject is fine, that is the whole point. You had -the right- to choose what you did.

But today, today we all watched that fall. I fear like many others that is only the beginning of what’s to come as was so kindly foreshadowed by the ever lovely Clarence Thomas. I have other concerns when it comes to Justice Thomas but those are for another time so let’s carry on. I will briefly say that his view that the court should revisit Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell should worry all of us. If you’re unaware of what those three cases are I’ll give you the short version

• Griswold v. Connecticut: In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-to-2 ruling, struck down a Connecticut law that restricted married couples’ access to birth control. The court majority said such statutes are impermissible because they violate Americans’ right to privacy.
  
• Lawrence v. Texas: In 2003, in a 6-3 decision, the justices ruled that anti-sodomy laws are unconstitutional. In the process, the high court, for the first time, made sexual activity between same-sex partners legal in the United States.
  
• Obergefell v. Hodges: In 2015, in a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court declared that the right to get married cannot be limited solely to straight couples. In the process, the justices brought marriage equality to every state in the nation.

So while there isn’t any movement on those as of this writing, it is clearly in their sights and I do not believe that is good for any of us. But we’ll talk about those more when that time comes. Today is about Roe. Even in knowing that this was coming, thanks to whomever leaked the draft of it, it is still hard to believe that we as a country can be as backwards as we are. Since 1994 only THREE other countries have restricted abortion access. Poland, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. In that same time frame over 50 other nations made it easier to get an abortion. Those nations include Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Ireland, Thailand, and South Korea amongst others.

I think I find myself mostly aligning with people on this part. “My body my choice.” The same people who are so hardcore against a vaccine being pushed to help prevent and/or lessen the effects of Covid-19 are the same people who just stripped the “my body my choice” from women across the country. Why is it different? Because it’s only convenient to use the logic when it fits the narrative. That works for both sides as well, so this isn’t me speaking from a blue side, this is me in the middle. The one key difference here is one was the law of the land for 50 years and one is a fucking vaccine. But, let’s take that right away from women though, why not. To the naysayers who will argue well it wasn’t an amendment or codified, spare me the time. I’m not here for that. You want me to respect all of your rights and not infringe upon any of them, even though my view may not align with yours.

When I wrote about the mass shootings, I was honest, I voiced my opinion on it, but I also did not ask to take away rights from those responsible gun owners. The people who do it right should not be punished for those who do not. Here we’re just punishing every woman across the country for what reason? Because your religious beliefs do not line up with someone seeking an abortion? I’m sorry but you are the same crowd who went on and on about “fuck your feelings” a little while back did you not? So why are we not saying fuck you feelings when it comes to this? Quite simply because this country is a mess, and has become more so in recent history.

These senators, congresspeople, Presidents, etc don’t represent the people. If they did they would know that the numbers on all of the various things that we all agree on are far closer than their viewpoints are. We’d have some actual real change in this country that would better all of us. But we don’t. We do not because money and greed and corporations dictate what these individuals do. If it seems like I am angry it’s because I am. That might shock some people, but not those who know me. I speak my mind, I don’t care how many waves it makes, what ripples may come from it, or who wants to come burn me at the stake. This kind of shit shouldn’t be happening in the land of free, the home of the brave. As I sit looking at this page all I feel is disappointed in this country. I think back on hearing “I’m proud to be an American.” I guess yes I still am, but not like I used to be. I’m proud of our good points, but damn have we gone the wrong way so many times lately.

We can see the very obvious differences here but it is very clear that we as a country at least did not want this to change. The talking heads on both sides of the media aisle will tell you what they want you to hear, but the truth is we’re not as far apart as they always want us to be. It goes right along with everything else they want us all to fight about because all of us being divided helps them, not us. Do your research, look into the things you want to know and find the facts. Don’t trust MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, and whatever random ass news channel the former guy wants you to watch. If you care at all about the future use your own minds and learn. We are better than what these people make us out to be.

Already today I’ve seen protests across the country. Use your rights, do what you should, but keep it civil and peaceful. If we want this to change we cannot give them any excuse to downplay the efforts. There are now 22 states that have laws to restrict abortion access. Since I’m about facts here let’s name and shame them.

Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan.

Sixteen states plus Washington D.C. have laws that protect abortion access. Again let’s name, this time with no shame.

Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C.

The remaining states; Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Florida, Alaska are the in between states. We’ll see what the future holds.

I don’t have a daughter, I’m not a woman, so I can only understand from the side of those I know. I do have a son and as of today he has more rights than my niece does. I cannot believe that I have to make that statement in 2022. But here we fucking are. Also for the sake of clarity my state is on the shit list up there. Thanks Wisconsin. I’ll give a little more insight on my state. The Governor, who is a Democrat, called a special session of the legislature to appeal an 1890s law on abortion that has been dormant here forever. They gaveled the session in and immediately out. Doing absolutely nothing at all. Well then today’s news came down and obviously now we have a problem. I will give our Governor credit though, here’s what he had to say; “Governor Evers tells the AP he won’t appoint district attorneys who would enforce the abortion ban and he would use clemency powers to vacate prison sentences of anyone convicted under the law.” I can tell you this, he has my vote next time around just on that alone. Use your powers for good.

At the end of the day it comes down to this and I’m quite sure of it. This is about controlling what they want to control. This isn’t about saving babies. It’s not. They will tell you it is and ride the horse into the ground but that’s not the case. If they cared so much about saving lives, we wouldn’t let these mass murders continue to happen. No I’m not blaming the gun. They don’t care about lives, they care about power and control and as long as we let them have it they will continue to abuse it.

Things for the women in the nation to be mindful of because we all know how things will work. This article might be useful https://www.grid.news/story/technology/2022/06/24/its-not-just-period-trackers-the-post-roe-digital-data-dragnet-is-bigger-than-you-think/

For more info: https://reproductiverights.gov/

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